This biography has been generally lauded for its rare impartiality. And
the author does, indeed, praise and blame alike with a most singular
appearance of stolid candour. The work, in truth, is one of those not
uncommon proofs, of which Boswell's "Johnson" is the most striking, that
a very valuable book may be written by a very silly man. The biographer
of Rienzi appears more like the historian of Rienzi's clothes, so minute
is he on all details of their colour and quality--so silent is he upon
everything that could throw light upon the motives of their wearer.
In fact, granting the writer every desire to be impartial, he is too
foolish to be so. It requires some cleverness to judge accurately of
a very clever man in very difficult circumstances; and the worthy
biographer is utterly incapable of giving us any clue to the actions
of Rienzi--utterly unable to explain the conduct of the man by the
circumstances of the time. The weakness of his vision causes him,
therefore, often to squint. We must add to his want of wisdom a want
of truth, which the Herodotus-like simplicity of his style frequently
conceals. He describes things which had no witness as precisely and
distinctly as those which he himself had seen. For instance, before
the death of Rienzi, in those awful moments when the Senator was alone,
unheard, unseen, he coolly informs us of each motion, and each thought
of Rienzi's, with as much detail as if Rienzi had returned from the
grave to assist his narration. These obvious inventions have been
adopted by Gibbon and others with more good faith than the laws of
evidence would warrant. Still, however, to a patient and cautious reader
the biography may furnish a much better notion of Rienzi's character,
than we can glean from the historians who have borrowed from it
piecemeal. Such a reader will discard all the writer's reasonings,
will think little of his praise or blame, and regard only the facts he
narrates, judging them true or doubtful, according as the writer had the
opportunities of being himself the observer. Thus examining, the reader
will find evidence sufficient of Rienzi's genius and Rienzi's failings:
Carefully distinguishing between the period of his power as Tribune, and
that of his power as Senator, he will find the Tribune vain, haughty,
fond of display; but, despite the reasonings of the biographer, he will
not recognise those faults in the Senator. On the other hand, he will
notice the difference be